Research support for media & publishing teams that can't afford gaps in accuracy

Whether you're a digital publisher tracking trending topics, an editor vetting sources for a long-form feature, or a content strategist building an editorial calendar around data, research is the work that never fully gets done. The problem isn't a lack of information — it's that pulling, organizing, and verifying it consistently takes hours your senior staff shouldn't be spending. Trusty Oak EAs handle the research layer so your editorial and creative teams stay focused on the work only they can do.

Fractional research support for media and publishing companies

How Trusty Oak handles research for media and publishing companies

A Trusty Oak EA assigned to a media or publishing client typically works within tools like Airtable, Google Sheets, Notion, or your existing CMS to organize and deliver research in formats your team can actually use. Day-to-day, that might look like pulling competitor content audits using SEMrush or Ahrefs, aggregating industry data from sources like Statista, Nielsen, or trade publications, or building annotated source lists for journalists and editors working on deadline. Your EA follows a brief or research template you provide — or helps you build one during onboarding — and surfaces findings with clear citations so your team can verify and use them without starting from scratch. Your role is to set the scope and review outputs; the EA handles the digging.

What your EA takes off your plate

The most common mistake first-time delegators in media and publishing make is handing off research without a defined output format — your EA can pull excellent data and still deliver something your editor can't use if the structure isn't specified upfront. Before your first assignment, put together a one-page brief that includes the intended use (article, pitch deck, editorial calendar), preferred source types, citation format, and how you want findings organized. Your Client Success Manager can help you build this during onboarding so it becomes a repeatable template rather than something you re-explain every time.

1

Competitor Content Auditing

Systematically reviewing competing publications or media brands using tools like SEMrush or BuzzSumo to identify content gaps, top-performing topics, and publishing cadence.

2

Source Verification and Fact-Checking Support

Cross-referencing claims, statistics, and quotes against primary sources, academic databases, or credible trade outlets to support editorial accuracy before publication.

3

Audience and Market Research Compilation

Pulling demographic, readership, or viewership data from sources like Nielsen, Pew Research, or platform analytics and organizing it into a usable brief or summary doc.

4

Story and Trend Monitoring

Setting up and managing Google Alerts, Feedly, or Meltwater keyword tracking to surface relevant news, emerging topics, or industry developments on a recurring basis.

5

Interview and Expert Source Research

Identifying and compiling contact information, credentials, and background on potential interview subjects or subject-matter experts relevant to upcoming editorial assignments.

Tools our team works with

We adapt to your existing stack — no forced migrations.

G2
SimilarWeb
Apollo.io
Statista
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
SEMrush

...and many more!

Trusted by media and publishing companies

Trusty Oak supports media and publishing companies including An Arm And a Leg, IDSCO, Susan B. Trachman, MD — handling everything from research to broader operational support.

What research support costs for media and publishing companies

Drag the sliders to build a monthly plan that fits your workload.

Executive Assistants
~$35/hour
10 hours $350
Specialists
~$50/hour
20 hours $1,000
Fractional Executives
~$95/hour
0 hours $0
Your monthly budget
$1,350

Starting at $1,000/month. One-time $300 onboarding fee includes your Strategic Delegation Plan.

Book a Discovery Call

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — if your organization has existing subscriptions to tools like Cision, LexisNexis, or industry-specific databases, your EA can work within those platforms using credentials you provide. Trusty Oak EAs do not bring their own licensed database access, so the research scope will depend on what your team already has available.
Trusty Oak operates on a flexible hourly model, so you can direct more hours toward research-heavy weeks and fewer during lighter periods — unused hours roll over month to month. For deadline-sensitive work, clear turnaround expectations set at the start of each assignment tend to work better than open-ended requests, and your Client Success Manager can help you establish a workflow for that during onboarding.
It works for both, but independent publishers and small editorial teams are often the best fit because research bottlenecks tend to hit hardest when there's no in-house researcher on staff. Monthly talent budgets start at $1,000, which gives a lean team meaningful research capacity without the overhead of a full-time hire.

Put a researcher behind your editorial team

Trusty Oak matches you with a US-based EA who understands media workflows — and a Client Success Manager who helps you delegate research without losing editorial control. Start with a $1,000/month budget and a Strategic Delegation Plan built around your actual needs.